Slender's Woods
by pokedoom97
Summary: When Taylor Graham's brother goes missing police assume he ran away. Only Taylor knows the truth. In the dead of night she ventures forth to find her brother, but she is not alone


The cold steel rattled like bones as I climbed over the fence. I shivered as I looked into the darkness then dropped. My shoes sunk into the soft earth as I landed hard. Part of me wanted to leave, climb back over and leave him there, but I couldn't just abandon him. I was no murderer. I took the flashlight out of my pocket and flicked it on. The forest around me lit up, but the light also threw long black shadows behind each tree. I could almost see the evil that lurked in this place. I had to do this, no one would believe me if I didn't. Only I knew what had really happened.

_My brother had been drawing under a tree while I had been playing in the park. Something just hadn't seemed quite right that day; it was as if everything knew what was coming. I was on the swing when I saw it. The shadows across the giant tree seemed darker than they should have been. I thought nothing of it until I saw it move. The shadow right on the trunk of the tree shifted slightly. I stopped swinging and stared at it. I could see shapes forming within the black, something big and tall. My brother was too busy to notice. _

_A hand extended from the trunk, then a body. I wanted to scream but I was gripped with a sudden throb in my head. It felt like my head was splitting down the middle, I was nearly sick. Leaning over my brother was what appeared to be a tall man with white skin wearing an elegant black suit. For a few brief seconds there was no movement, not even the wind rustled a leaf. Then with a sudden snatch the creature's long black arms grabbed my brother and covered his mouth. Dark tendrils wrapped around his body and the two began to sink back into the shadows. I called my brother's name and began to run to him. The second I drew close the white figure turned his head to me. This time I did scream. _

_Where the creature's eyes should be was only white indents in the skin, where his nose should be was nothing, and his mouth...you could see the shape of sharp teeth but the skin stretched over them too. As I screamed the monster sucked back into the tree, leaving nothing but a single page from my brother's book and the dull fading throb in my head. My parents had heard the scream and came running over. I picked up the page and stared at it. Scrawled roughly across it in big black marks was a circle with a deep jagged cross running through it. I told my parents but they didn't believe me. They believed he may have been kidnapped or ran away, but that didn't explain the page._

_That night when I went home there was another note. It had words printed onto it. _

_It's got me._

_It took me to the old silo place in the forest_

_Please help me_

_Jamie_

_I showed this to my mother, she didn't believe me again. Neither did dad. I waited until the next day to tell the police. Once again, I was the overimaginative child. I begged my parents to believe me. They comforted me and told me it was just a dream, even as I held the note. So I stole their camera and their torch, I would find Jamie on my own and show them I was right._

I hadn't walked very far into the woods. I had only been here once before and that was during the day, everything looked different at night. My shoes crunched against the grass as if I were walking on paper. In the distance I could see something that looked completely out of place. I pointed the camera at it and zoomed in on it. I could just make out a tall rusty red thing, like a silo only vertical and much much bigger. Uneasiness filled the air as I changed direction towards it. The grass had shifted to a thin dirt path; I followed it up to the red thing. I stood before it now. It towered over the tree tops like a giant staring down at me, judging me. I shuddered and walked around it. There seemed to be nothing very important about it, why was it even here. Just as I was about to turn away something caught my eye. I turned back and saw a torn bit of paper stuck to the side of the thing. I moved closer and inspected it.

Always watching

No eyes

It was Jamie's handwriting. He must have done this while running; the words were harshly drawn, almost slashed across the page. In the corner was a tiny 8 in different writing. I reached out tentatively and took it. The second I touched the thin sheet the silent forest shifted. In the distance there was a boom as if there was thunder nearby. I looked to the sky. That was odd, it's entirely clear. Where did the noise come from? I picked a direction at random and began to walk. This time the forest seemed different from before, it was as if it was glaring at me. Were the shadows always that dark?

I walked for what felt like an eternity with nothing but the liquid black sky for company. If I wasn't searching for my brother and there wasn't a monster with him I might have actually enjoyed the clear starry night. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted something. A giant tree loomed out of the darkness like cathedral spire, dominating the landscape with its presence. I turned toward it and felt somewhat at easy with the giant. Its rough bark was beginning to peel like paint off an old fence, strips hanging off like hinges. I stroked the rough skin admiringly. I've always loved trees. As if the tree could read my thoughts a long strip peeled away, revealing another page. I took it in my hands and read.

Don't look

Or it

Takes you!

I didn't quite understand the meaning of this one but I took it none the less. As I began to walk away I thought I heard something. I stopped walking, the sound of footsteps continued. Dread flooded my mind as I realised. I was not alone. My feet began working automatically. I walked away from the place hoping desperately whatever it was that was following me stayed there. I studied the note again. There was an eight on this one too. What did it mean? Does that mean there are eight notes in this godforsaken place? A thought briefly entered my mind. What if this was just a game, a wild goose chase? If this is a game I'll play along...for now. If I do I might, no, _will_ find where that thing is hiding Jamie. With new determination I set off to find another note. I walked in near silence searching for some sort of object that could conceal what I needed. The crunching noise of dry grass was the only sound that filled the woods. Not even owls were hooting. Something caught my eye, something metal. I zoomed in on it and groaned. The fence... I turned around and froze. About a hundred meters away a dark figure stood in the trees, white faceless head gleaming. The camera began to crackle with static as a wave of nausea attacked me. _Don't look or it takes you..._ I turned and ran. Absolute terror filled my body as I ran with no direction, no thought, and absolutely no clue. I eventually had to stop, exhaustion getting the better of me. Panting hard I took a quick look over my shoulder. It was gone. What the hell is that thing!

I lifted the camera up and looked through the screen. It seemed fine now, but when I pointed it at that thing it went crazy. I pointed it to my left and began to walk. Somehow I managed to find a path and began to follow it. My mind was taken up with images of the thing. It looked almost human, yet how could something like that even exist? I was so lost in my thoughts I walked straight into the side of a car. I yelped as the cold metal touched me. When my heart beat had slowed somewhat I inspected the car. It was an old rusted out Volvo I think, the symbol was hard to recognise through all the red. I checked inside and out and saw no slip of paper this time. I was about to turn when I remembered what happened last time I did that. I walk around the car's shell without casting so much as a glance anywhere else and continued on.

The long minutes past me by without another sign of the tall being, I was beginning to think I was never going to find anything, I was almost glad when I spotted a concrete structure before me. It was a long concrete tunnel, old and rain worn in spots but still radiated a since of menace. I shone my flashlight along the inside of the walls. A white sheet lay against the cold stone at the end of the structure. I swallowed and stepped inside. The sound of my breathing echoed off the walls of the harsh concrete walls like waves bouncing off a cliff face. It somehow made the tunnel even more sinister. I reached the page and tore it from the wall. Two giant words leaped out at me like neon signs.

Can't Run

Again, a tiny eight was scribbled in the middle. That confirms it. There must be eight notes out here for me to find. But the question was whether it was Jamie who left these here, or the thing. A gust of light wind blew through the tunnel. I pointed the camera behind my head without turning my head. As I had expected it began to fizzle with static. I ran out into the moonlight, almost certain the thing was running after me. Trees flew past in a whirlwind of green; I had to get away from it. I nearly ran face first into a tall half cut tree. I stopped; the whole section of forest was like this. Their trunks looked like they had been covered in tar or something similar. I walked around the blackened trunks, inspecting and searching. I found what I was looking for plastered to one of the trunks. This page had only one word scribbles across it.

Follows

Next to the word was a crudely drawn image of the creature beside a tree. Even through the pencil line I could see the fear behind the image. Jamie must be so scared… I looked up. Almost at once the camera began to screech. Not ten meters away was the tall skeletal figure towering in the moonlight like the devil himself. I screamed as I took a step in my direction. Pain split my skull as I stared at the man. I nearly threw up right then and there. Still screaming I turned and fled in sheer terror as the creature took another step. Blinded by panic I fled through the unforgiving forest in a whirlwind of fear. My head continued to thump with each pounding step I took. By sheer mistake I ended up back on the path. Sweat pored of me as I raced along the track, praying to whoever was listening that I could make it out of here alive. Tears threatened to spill over my eyes as I finally had to stop, couching and wheezing. All I wanted to do was lie down and stay there until dawn broke, I was nearly tempted to do so, the only thing that kept me going was the little voice in my head nagging me forward. I basically stumbled along the path and found an odd looking wall. It was shaped like a big X yet had no real structure or purpose. It was as if someone put it there just for the sake of it being there. I walked slowly around it, searching for something, anything to keep me sane. I let out a relied squeak as I spotted the slip of paper. I tore it free and read.

HELP ME!

Fizz. The camera was going mad again. The creature was striding towards me, moving as silent and as deadly as liquid, curved claw like hands stretching at his side. I let out a sob and ran. The sky boomed over head as a black tendril brushed my skin. I screamed in horror and flew across the grassy forest floor. My breath came out in shallow gasps but I kept running. If I stopped even for a second that thing would surely get me. A large grey rock loomed out of the trees like a beacon. I rushed into one of the crevasses and collapsed, sobbing and convulsing. I could feel unconsciousness lurking behind my eyes. I almost gratefully accepted it before I realised something white was fluttering above my head. I didn't want to touch it, sure it would bring back the monster, but even the slightest sign that Jamie was still breathing was too much for me. I gently pulled it free.

LEAVE ME ALONE

I let out a sob. The words were almost illegible. He must be in serious trouble. A small voice entered my head. _What if Jamie's going mad? Will you do the same?_ At the moment it seemed like I seriously could go under. Anxiety flooded through me as I realised I needed to leave the rock. I could be on the other side, waiting for me. I stood up shakily, hands barley able to keep hold of my positions, and charged back into the woods. This time I heard it chasing after me. Tears poured down my face as the camera continued to crackle. I darted through two tightly packed trees, hoping somehow to lose him, and ran face first into a tree. I howled in pain as I crashed to the floor. Blood began to pour out of my nose like a tap. I looked up in dread, knowing what I would find. The slender man was stalking closer, slowly hunting me, not even bothering to run.

"Leave me ALONE!" I screamed and scrambled to my feet. This time there were no steps following. I wiped the blood of my face and realised I was on the edge of an empty field. No, it wasn't empty, there were big rusty silo's scattered around the place. I shone my light around them and saw bricks behind them. A building. That must be where Jamie is! I began to run through the silos to get to the house like place. I nearly tripped again on a stick but managed to grab hold of the rusty side of the metal cylinder.

By sheer accident the trip sent me into another note. I had no doubts. Jamie's mind was in serious trouble. The note consisted only of a slashed image of the tall figure and the word NO repeated over and over again around it. With shaking hands I shoved it into my pocket with the other ones. Wind buffered me, roaring in my ears like a train hurtling past. It nearly blew me over with the force of it. Even if I didn't want to in this wind I had no choice but to get inside. Using the silo's as wind breaks I slowly fought my way toward the towering brick building. When I finally reached the safety of the structure the unthinkable happened. The torch that had been my one and only life line sputtered and died in my hand. I tried desperately to bring it back, but it stubbornly sat in my hands without so much as a flicker. I began to panic. My throat closed over as more tears spike my eyes. I had nearly succumbed to the near madness when I realised something. The camera had a tiny light. I nearly dropped the entire thing as I grabbed and pressed the buttons until a little light flickered on. I signed shakily in relief as the white tiled place lit up. I thought I heard a sound, breathing, that didn't belong to me. Alarm bells sounded in my brain. It was close. Not looking behind me I walked slowly through the cracked white tiled rooms, searching for the one thing that would keep me sane. My footsteps echoed through the building like rocks being dropped from somewhere. I spotted the final page glued to one of the cold ceramic walls. I literally ripped it from the wall and read the words with quiet desperation.

HELP ME…

I let out a strangled sob, tears spattering the paper. Where was he? He needed me now more than ever. I finally cracked.

"Jamie! Jamie where are you!" I screeched into the concrete walls. Silence. Dead silence.

"Jamie…" I wept into the near darkness. The only sound in this whole unforgiving place to be herd was the relentless wind howling like a banshee outside. I moaned and sunk to the floor in a heap. He wasn't here. He never was. This whole thing was a mistake. He's probably dead already, just like I will soon to be. That monster can come and take me for all I care, I don't want to live in a world without Jamie there to give me pictures, play with me, love me…

"…T...Taylor?" A small voice echoed down the hall. In an instant I was on my feet.

"Jamie, where are you, I'm here, it's me!" I cried with relief, charging down the hall way.

"T-Taylor…I'm over here" Jamie's voice croaked in the darkness. I sprinted through the desolate hall way in search of the voice. I checked each room around me but still could not find him.

"I can't find you, stay still" I yelled to the darkness.

"I a-am. Please hurry" I could tell he was crying, just as I was. I ran through the building, desperate to find him before the monster did. At last I came to the final room. A chair was sitting in the corner of the room thrown against the floor with such force it had nearly broken. Beside it was a small dark figure. I shone the light over it. A face stared up at me. Jamie's brown hair was a mass of dirt and leaves, his face scratched and bruised, all his cloths were torn and ruined, but what scared me most were his eyes. No longer did they hold the pool of intellect or the deep brooding they had once known. They were wide and blank, the only thing in them was…was…insanity. He looked up at me confused, as if he didn't quite know who I was, then sniffed.

"Is that really you, or is my brain lying again?" He whispered. I dropped to my knees before him and crushed him against me.

"I thought I would never see you again" I wept into him. He stiffened in my arms. He was looking over my shoulder, face frozen in a mask of fear. The camera began to crackle. The tall black figure towered in the door way, staring down at us with amusement. I whimpered as my head began to split again, not giving it the satisfaction of seeing me scream again. Jamie just let out a little whisper of breath. It walked towards us, face a stony mask of white, and looked down at us. Jamie started to shake beneath me. Black tendrils of darkness extended from its back and whipped around him.

Faster than I thought was possible it grabbed me and threw me against the wall. I shrieked with pain as I slammed into the wall, camera sent flying across the room. The slender man reach its sharp clawed hands down to Jamie and slowly lifted him into the air. Jamie stared at the monster without even flinching. Pride flooded through me. Even in the face of death he stared it down. For what felt like a life time, but was probably only seconds, they hung there, suspended. Then, with an unearthly hiss the suited figure pressed his blank face against Jamie's. It looked like they were kissing. The sight would have been almost comical if it weren't for the fact that Jamie's struggles were growing weaker and weaker by the second. Jamie's face had turned a deathly shade of pale white; he hung limply from the skeletal fingers like a ragdoll, barely even breathing.

The tall dark creature pulled his faceless head away. A thin blue mist fluttered out of Jamie's mouth, with a hiss the creature sucked it into where its mouth should have been. With a thud Jamie fell to the floor in a heap. I tried to crawl over to him; my ankle had twisted when I had slammed into the wall, the creature just stood there. I scrambled across the cracked tiles to my brothers side and turned him over. Jamie's pale blue eyes stared up at me blankly, not a trace of life left in them. Only the shallow rise and fall of his chest told me he was still alive...barely. The creature looked down on the scene with mild amusement. Tears splattered down my face as Jamie's gasping breaths stopped entirely.

"Jamie...Jamie?" I gently shook his shoulders. Nothing... No response. He was gone. I completely lost it. I wailed and held the cold lifeless body against me, as if that would somehow bring him back. A black tendril flickered past me. The creature had had enough of weighting. I lost all hope. I cast one final look at Jamie's body and let him go. I will die with you. Just wait for me on the other side. You won't have to wait too long. I looked deep into the face of the suited monster and waited. If it had a mouth, it would be smiling. I was lifted into the air by bone white claws; I closed my eyes and waited for this nightmare to be over. Pain flare up inside me as the creature pressed its mouth against me. Suddenly all the warmth was being sucked out of my body. It was as if my soul was being forced out of my body. No, it wasn't "_like"_ anything; it _was _sucking the soul from my body. I didn't fight it; I wanted to join Jamie as soon as possible. The agony was unbearable. I wish it would just hurry up and kill me already, end this suffering. When the sticky darkness began to cling to my brain I accepted it gratefully. The world grew darker, but the pain didn't leave as I hoped it would. The slender man wasn't done with me yet. I was no longer aware of where I was, if I was still being held or not, all I knew was pain and darkness. There was no tunnel, no light, no golden gates, just blackness and pain. God in heaven teach me how to die.

Police received a call two days after the disappearance of Jamie Graham, the second child of the family, Taylor Graham, had disappeared as well. At first they believed the child had simply ran away, but upon further investigation it was discovered the girl believed her brother was being held in the disused logging park, long abandoned for non specified reasons. A team of investigators were sent into the area for a search and rescue. The search lead the team to the main building, where the bodies of both children were discovered. The cause of death was unclear; it was as if the life had literally been taken from them. Placed on top of the bodies was a torn page from the boys note book. It simply read

TOO LATE

Upon finding the bodies it was discovered that a video camera had been used along with the note book. Everything was taken back to the lab for analysis. No finger prints or DNA of any description was discovered on the objects other that the children's themselves. The camera data had been extracted and replayed for the parents. The footage showed of the girl, Taylor, in the forest at night looking for the boy, Jamie. The shock came when the footage showed a tall slender being wearing a suit stalking the 15 year old through the forest. The mother of the two had to leave the room at a point in the footage when the girl broke down on film. The father on the other hand stayed until the end. Police were shocked and horrified as they watched the human like figure completely destroy the girls mind to the point where she lay cowering between a group of towering rocks. Tears were shed by all as they watched the girl find her brother, then the unspeakable happened. The policemen watched in silent horror as the camera was thrown across the room, in a perfect angle to capture the events that unfolded. The team watched as the boy was killed by the slender man in front of his sister. One of the officers had to wipe away tears as the girl wept over her brother's body. The father watched trembling as his daughter was killed right before his eyes. They thought it would end there, but when the children both lay dead upon the floor the tape kept rolling. It showed the creature stealing the drawing pad from the boy's body, scribble the words the men had found, and placed it over the two children's bodies. The men and women in the little room shock in terror as the black figure ever so slowly turned its blank face towards the camera. Static shook the screen as it walked liquidly up to the camera. It clutched the paper in its hands and stared down at the metallic devise. It slowly lifted the sheet to the screen.

You're next

A loud wining noise emanated from the screen. The creature lifted the camera into its face. The room erupted into screams as the slender man snarled and rushed at the screen. It froze on that exact image. Every person in that room died within three days.


End file.
